History

HSBC's presence in Malaysia dates back to 1884 when the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited established its first office in the country, on the island of Penang, with permission to issue currency notes. In 1959 it bought the Mercantile Bank, which started operations in Malaysia in 1860.

HSBC opened its office in Malacca in 1909 and by the end of 1912, offices had opened in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Kota Bharu.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the bank opened more branches in several states - Sungai Petani branch in 1922, Kuantan in 1929, Muar in 1930, and Kuala Terengganu in 1936.

In Sabah, the first branch opened in Kota Kinabalu in 1947. Branches were set up in Sandakan and Tawau a year later, followed by Labuan in 1957. In Sarawak, branches opened in Kuching in 1958 and 1964 and in Sibu in 1959. In 2006, HSBC was the first foreign bank to be awarded a licence to operate a Takaful (Islamic insurance) business in Malaysia. HSBC Amanah Takaful (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd - a joint venture between HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited (49 per cent shareholding), Jerneh Asia Berhad (31 per cent shareholding) and Employees Provident Fund Board of Malaysia (20 per cent shareholding) - commenced operations in August 2006.

In 2007, HSBC Bank Malaysia was the first locally incorporated foreign bank to be awarded an Islamic banking subsidiary licence in Malaysia, and HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, an Islamic bank wholly owned by HSBC Bank Malaysia, commenced operations in August 2008. HSBC in Malaysia has a network of more than 60 branches, of which a third are HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad branches.

HSBCnet has Malaysia's first security technology, Virtual Keyboard, and HSBC customers were among the earliest to use online cheque-image enquiry technology.

Customers of HSBC Bank Malaysia were also the first to benefit from account updates via text messages and since September 2000, customers have been able to trade shares listed on Bursa Malaysia online with selected stockbroking companies. In July 2001, HSBC launched ChequeScan to make deposits faster and simpler.

Malaysia: A developed nation by 2020

Located in the heart of South East Asia, Malaysia is a multi-ethnic, upper-middle-income economy that serves as a gateway to the enormous Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) market.

What was once an economy dependent on agriculture and primary commodities is now manufacturing-based and export-driven, spurred on by high technology, knowledge-based and capital intensive industries.

Malaysia is a leading exporter of electrical appliances, electronic parts and components, palm oil and natural gas. It is also a world leader in Islamic finance, with its Islamic finance industry in existence for more than 30 years. [1]

Since 2010, Malaysia has embarked on an economic transformation programme to elevate itself to developed-nation status by 2020. [2] It has in place several schemes to complement the increasing trend of global off-shoring activities. Many foreign multinational corporations have chosen Malaysia as the base for their regional operations.

As an emerging nation, Malaysia is strategically connected to major trading and business hubs of the world, including China, the United States, the European Union (EU) and other ASEAN economies.

This means big opportunities for HSBC, for which Malaysia is a priority market as it pivots towards Asia.

The rest of ASEAN accounted for 27.4% of Malaysia's total trade in 2015 [12]

China has been Malaysia's largest single trading partner for seven consecutive years. In 2015, Malaysia's trade with China expanded by 11.1% [13]

Growth of exports to the EU was steady (up 3.1% in 2015), while export performance to the US was strong (up 14.4%, two consecutive years of double-digit growth in exports) [14]

Tourist arrivals: 27 million in 2014 (largest in ASEAN) [15]

75% of the population now live in cities, up from 56% just 20 years ago. [16] Industry now makes up about 40% of GDP, and services about 50% [17]

The World Bank Doing Business 2016 Report ranked Malaysia 18th out of 189 economies

HSBC in Malaysia: More than 130 years of history

Malaysia’s economic development, the relative affluence of its population, its geographic position within the region, and growing ties with China all mean the country holds big opportunities for HSBC, where it is the leading foreign bank. [18]

HSBC’s long-term target in Malaysia is to protect our position as the most profitable foreign bank as well as our leadership in our Amanah franchise.

HSBC in Malaysia has a network of more than 60 branches, of which a third are HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad branches

Malaysia contributed USD 191 million to Group PBT in the first half of 2016 [19]

Currently we have approximately 4,700 staff in HSBC Malaysia (excluding HDPM – HSBC Electronic Data Processing Malaysia) and GLTM (HSBC Software Development Management)

In 2006, HSBC was the first foreign bank to be awarded a licence to operate a Takaful (Islamic insurance) business in Malaysia. In 2007, HSBC Bank Malaysia was the first locally incorporated foreign bank to be awarded an Islamic banking subsidiary licence in Malaysia

HSBCnet has Malaysia's first security technology, Virtual Keyboard, and HSBC customers were among the earliest to use online cheque-image enquiry technology

Customers of HSBC Bank Malaysia were also the first to benefit from account updates via text messages, and since September 2000, customers have been able to trade shares listed on Bursa Malaysia online with selected stockbroking companies. In July 2001, HSBC launched ChequeScan to make deposits faster and simpler

HSBC Bank Malaysia has been named The Asset's "Best Bank in Malaysia" for 13 years running and "Best Domestic Cash Management Bank" by Euromoney Cash Management Survey 2015 for 9 consecutive years

HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad was Euromoney's Best Sukuk House in 2014 [20]

HSBC Amanah was also awarded "Best Islamic Finance House" by FinanceAsia in 2015, and have led the sukuk issuance league tables over the past five years [21]